A Seed on the Wind
by stitchesandbuttons
Summary: Georgie Sanchez is the new foreign exchange student who's been through hell and back in the last few months. Her dad has died, she's been uprooted from her home, her aunt is sick and her uncle is abusive. But then the Sohmas save her, or that's what she thought. Georgie might wind up saving them in the end.rated T for mild language and violence. first few chapters are long,but good
1. Chapter 1

"Georgie, you need to get going."

"Can't I stay just a little longer? We're on the last chapter of The Secret Garden."

"Sweetheart, it's your first day of school in Japan. It'll look bad if you're late," she purses her lips.

"But, it's Friay. Nobody starts school on a Friday. Can't I just skip and spend the day with you?"

"Hun, you've been in this hospital everyday this week! That's not healthy for a teenage girl. Besides, there is going to be a representative from your class showing you around. You have to go."

"But you aren't doing well today."

"Georgie, I'll be fine. The doctors know what they're doing and I've got a nurse waiting for me at the push of a button. You don't have to worry so much," she says weakly. "You need to get going or else he'll think you stood him up. He'll be there at 6:30."

"Alright." I can't really argue with her. The doctors say that she can't get too excited or she'll wear herself out. "I have the 4:00 to 11:00 shift, so I probably can't see you tonight. But I'll try to come back tomorrow morning."

"I swear to god that you aren't a normal teenager. SLEEP IN TOMORROW IT'S GONNA BE SATURDAY FOR CRYIN' OUT LOUD!" she yells in her thick accent from the Bronx. Sometimes I'm glad that I lived in Colorado instead of New York. I think I would sound funny if I talked like my Aunt Matty.

"Fine, I'll come in the afternoon," I say wrestling my burgundy locks into a ponytail.

"You're killing me kid. Come over here. Lemme help," she gestures me to her hospital bed. I sit on the chair next to her and she untangles my hair from the rubber band without any effort. When she strangles it back in, she runs her fingers over a cut on the back of my neck. "Where did this come from?"

"Oh, it was late last night and I tripped. But I don't know what I scraped myself on. Funny how things like that happen," I lie. Okay, I didn't trip. But how do you tell your Aunt that her new husband is an abusive drunk? I know that he's not doing it for no reason. Ever since Aunt Matty checked into the hospital, it's really brought Jin down. He's drank away all of his issues, but he snaps pretty easily. And since I'm the only one home, he takes some things out on me. I should just hit back or at least defend myself, because I know that I could knock this guy on his ass. But something just doesn't feel right about it.

"Georgie, promise me you'll be more careful? I don't want you to hurt yourself. And please go get a coat after school, it's snowing," she says worriedly. I look out the window and the snow is coming down in thick white flurries. Oh geez, I really do need a coat.

"I promise. I'm going to head out. Love you," I say giving her a quick kiss on the forehead.

I get out of the hospital and start walking towards the school. _I wonder what kind of person the rep is. Most likely some studious goody two shoes with a comb-over type of hairdo._

I turn into the school and nobody is there. _Am I early? It's already 6:30. I guess that he's running a little behind. Oh Mr. Rep, please get here soon. I already have goosebumps on my legs._

Fifteen minutes later I'm penguin huddling against a wall and gritting my teeth from the cold. And then I hear the snow crunching a few paces behind me. "Oh my goodness! How long have you been out here?" there is a strangely handsome boy standing in front of me with dark silver hair and amethyst eyes that almost glow. He's holding an umbrella over me and I freeze for a moment.

"I've only been out here for five minutes max," I smile through chattering teeth."

"You must be freezing, you only have a sweater," he says, wrapping his red scarf around my neck. "Let's get you inside."

"T-thank you," I shiver. He takes a key from his pocket and sticks it in the lock. Then, like a gentleman, he holds the door open for me. "Thanks... Again," I chuckle.

"I'm really sorry for the wait, I accidentally slept in."

"Oh, it's fine. It happens to everybody," I try to put him at ease a little.

"You really need a jacket though."

"I know, but my paycheck doesn't come in until Monday. I'll just have tough it out until then," I say giving him an overly enthusiastic thumbs up. _Ugh, I'm such a dork sometimes._

"Are you sure?"

"Don't worry about me, I might not look it, but I can get through any storm."

"Maybe I can learn a thing or two from you about being tough."he smiles halfheartedly and leads the way.

"Oh, thank you," I say trying not to blush. This guy probably has all sorts of girls beating down his door. I'm going to be smart and not get involved with that.

"Well, we should probably start the tour, Miss Sanchez," he smiles.

"Miss Sanchez? You don't have to be so formal. Just call me Georgie."

"Oh no, I couldn't possibly." He's really polite.

"Alright, so long as you're comfortable with it, you can call me whatever you want for now. But we're going to have to get on a first name basis eventually." Then we walk up and down the halls, finding my classes and all of that good stuff. We pass a janitor and he nods at us and I bob my head back.

When we turn into the hall I hear this huge SQUEAK and then this guy is on top of me! He looks really panicked and just stays there for a minute. I don't know what he's waiting for something but he's starting to get heavy. "Losing... Air,"I gasp. Then he raises himself to the point where he isn't crushing me with his body weight , but his face is only a few inches away from mine. "Are you okay?! Are you hurt?!"

"I'm okay, how 'bout you?" _This is awkward, please get off of me._

"I'm fine," he says scrambling to get off of me. I sit up and rub my backside, because I landed really hard on my butt. Then I feel the buzz of pain. Every bruise, cut and banged up bone aches. I wanna cry or wince or something, but I can't do it in front of anyone.

Then we kind of sit on the floor in an awkward silence. I have no idea what to say to him. This is just a weird situation. I think whatever I say will just make things worse. He clears his throat to break the quiet. "We should probably go to homeroom, so you can meet the teacher," he says without looking at me.

"Okay, sure," I say picking up a couple of notebooks that I dropped. Aw man, they're all wet. I guess the janitor must have been mopping.

The rep seems kind of dazed. I don't know what his deal is. He's acting like it's the first time that he's come in physical contact with anyone. He keeps on staring in a weird way. I don't really know a good word to explain it. I guess he sort of seems shocked. But I don't know why. Girls must be planting hugs on him morning,noon and night. _I just don't get it. Something's not right here._

We come into the classroom and there is a male teacher with short, spikey hair and a goatee. "Ah, you must be Georgie," he says over-enthusiasticly. "I trust that Yuki has taken good care of you."

"Yes sir," I say quietly.

"Why are you being shy?! Aren't you excited for your first day of high school?"

"Oh yes sir, it's just that things are different here. And I don't really know how everything works yet and it's sort of a scary experience. But I'm also very excited at the same time! Um, it's a complicated emotion," I ramble.

"You'll be fine," he says patting a big bruise on my back. "The kids here are pretty decent. So you shouldn't have any problems. Ya know, unless you cause them."

"Oh, I won't sir." At least I know my classmates will be nice. I shouldn't be so tense.

"Good. The bell should ring right about-" Then, there is a huge ding pulsating throughout the school. "Now," he says with a satisfied look. It's impressive that he knows exactly when the bell will ring without looking at the clock!

Before I can blink, a bunch of people swarm the classroom and take their seats. I don't know what to do, so I just stand there like a lump.

When everyone is settled, the teacher starts the new girl rant. "Class, this is our new exchange student from America! She's only been in Japan for a couple of weeks , so you need to cut her some slack. I expect you to be nice and show her around and all of that crap." The class breaks into a symphony of 'oohs' and 'ahs' and other various whisperings. Then he looks down at me. "Go ahead and introduce yourself," he says nudging me even closer to the class.

With my knees shaking and my palms getting moist, I force myself to say," H-hello. I'm Georgie Sanchez and I'm really excited to be joining your class." Then I bow awkwardly, I'm still not used to that gesture. Then the whispers shift from from wonder to speculations about my awkward accent. _ They're lucky that I speak any Japanese at all, I'd like to see them speak English with a spot on accent._

_Damn, I stick out like a sore thumb._ I don't even have a uniform yet. It's not like I don't hate the sailor outfit with a fiery passion, because I DO, but it would be nice if I could blend in a little better. I tried to at least look relatively similar to all of the other girls by wearing my good button up blouse and a navy skirt that I found at a second hand store, but it's not working. The fact that I'm walking around in socks because I don't have the dumb school slippers is completely throwing off my mojo. And there's also a big hole in the toe.

Then I'm snapped out of my mini-crisis when the the teacher starts talking again."Well then," he says. "You are seated in the back row in between Yuki and and the synthetic orangette."

Then the kid stands up to shout," How many times do I have to tell you that this is my natural hair color!"

"Sit down Mr. Sohma, or else I'll have to write you up again!" the teacher shouts back.

"Oh come on! If anything, you should be giving this girl crap about her hair! Aren't Americans supposed to be blonde?! " What did I do to him?"There's no way in hell that is her natural hair color. She's probably wearing colored contacts too!"

"But this is my natural hair color." I retort. I try not to get angry, but this jerk is pushing my buttons.

"Who do you think your fooling! You probably dyed it." _Damn dude, calm down. Didn't anyone teach him about indoor voices in preschool?_

"Hey I'm not 100% white okay, I'm Hispanic so my hair is naturally darker. In case you haven't noticed, Sanchez isn't your stereotypical American name." I know I shouldn't let him get to me, he's only picking on me because he feels alienated, but he is making me feel weird. People used to give me funny looks. But nobody's really ever tried to make me feel bad about being different.

"What about your eyes then?" he fumes.

"What about my eyes?" _Ooh Georgie, you're just adding fuel to the fire._

"They're violet, that's insanely weird ."

"I don't know why my eyes are like this, but I thought they were kind of neat." There is only one other person in American history with violet eyes, and that's Elizabeth Taylor; so I think I'm entitled to feeling kind of freakin' special.

"You're no better than me! You're just a freak!" He shouts. Before I can say something I'll regret , the teacher cuts in.

"Kyo! You're taking it too far," the teacher raises his voice. Then he realizes that he's making a scene and sits down. Wow, I've been in this school for five minutes and my existence is already pissing someone off. Thats a new record.

I already miss home. I miss my loft in downtown Denver, next to the art museum. Heck, I even miss the homeless people that would hit me up for change every other day! Then I snap back to reality when the teacher says," I can move you to a different seat, if you want."

"It's no big deal, sir. There are always gonna be people who don't like you, it's just a part of life," I grin.

"If you say so," he says looking concerned. Then, I make my way to the back of the room and sit in between the flaming orange head and the rep. This is going to be an interesting school year.

After a couple hours of the lesson plan the teacher calls for an off block. "Alright, you guys have from now until lunch to do whatever the heck you want. I have a meeting to go to, so don't burn down the school while I'm gone." Then he leaves. I figure that nobody's looking so I take out my headphones and a sketchbook. I only crank the volume to half blast so nobody can complain about hearing my music. Then I open my old leather bound sketchbook to the next clean page and start drawing the classroom because god knows that I need to practice perspective.

I have the basic layout of the room done, but it looks pretty bland, so I decide to put people in it. My classmates are kind of a lively bunch, and they're great at making gestures and over the top poses, so I loosely copy whatever they're doing onto the paper. Just as I finish the little sketch of Yuki talking to a group of people on the other side of the room, I think that I'm ready to start inking my picture.

I take exactly two seconds to grab a pen out of my bag; then out of nowhere, some girl snatches my journal off the desk. "What the heck is this," she says with utter disgust.

"It's nothing, can I just have it back," I say, taking a bud out of my ear.

"It looks so stupid that it's hilarious. Is that supposed to be the Prince?"

"The what?" What is she talking about?

"The Prince, right there," she says pointing at the little doodle. Wow, this guy has a fanbase. _That's not freaky at all._

"Yeah, in the very corner of the paper, the rest of the class is in it too" I huff. What's this girl's deal. I get it, the rep is a attractive. But there's a fine line between having a crush on someone and being creepy; this girl is flirting with that line."Please just give it back."

"Why do you even want to keep it? You draw so terribly," she whines. If I draw so terribly, why does she want it?

"Come on, can't I just have it back. If its that much of an eyesore I won't open it in class." she doesn't answer me at all this time. Instead, she just walks over to the trash can and by the time I can scream," WAIT, DON'T," she throws it to the bottom of the bin.

"Don't be such a baby about it," she sneers. And then she walks away. What is her issue? My dads' dog tags were in there!

I scramble to the trash can and start digging through papers, but I can't find my book! "Oh geez, it has to to be in here somewhere!" Then someone behind me clears his throat.

"Miss Sanchez?" aw man, it's the rep!

"Oh, hello," I say as naturally as possible. Oh, who am I kidding? There's nothing natural about digging through the garbage!

"Miss Sanchez, is something wrong?"

"No, not at all! Why do you ask?" Ugh, could I have made it any more obvious? I am such a dork.

"Well your hand is in the trash for one thing."

"Yeah, I sort of dropped a book in there. But it's not a big deal!" Okay, I know that girl was sort of being a snot, but I don't want to be a narc.

"Miss Sanchez," he says in an interrogative tone.

"Huh?" That sounded intelligent.

"You know that I saw her throw your book away, right?" Why didn't he just say that in the first place?!

"Oh," my voice cracks. "How much of that did you see?"

"Everything after she said 'What the heck is this?" Then he starts sorting through discarded papers and broken pencils with me.

"Oh, you don't have to help me. I'll probably find it in a sec," I say, fumbling through trash.

"I could've told that girl to give your book back, but I just stood there and watched. The least I can do is help you find it."

"You don't need to beat yourself up over it, though. You've already been so nice to me."

"I have?" he says with total shock.

"Well, yeah. You came to school early to show me where all my classes are-"

"But I was late." this guy is only seeing all of the negatives.

"I still appreciate the gesture, though. So thank you so much," I smile. I can't help it, he's been so nice. He's probably the first nice person I've met in Japan.

"Um, you're welcome," he smiles slightly. Then he hits something solid. And to my complete joy, he holds up my sketchbook. "Is this what you were looking for?"

"Oh my gosh! Yes, thank you so much!" it's safe! Then without thinking, I check for the dog tags. My hand flies to the inside cover and I feel them with numb fingers. Then I let out a breath that I didn't know I was holding in.

"Why do you have dog tags in there?" _Damn, I should've waited to look for them_.I guess that the truth comes out now.

"They were my dads'. His submarine was attacked three months ago in the middle east and he didn't come home. "

Then he looks like a deer in the headlights and his eyes are huge. "I'm sorry for asking. I didn't know-"

"Hey don't apologize. These things happen. Even though he isn't physically here, I keep him alive in spirit," I smile at the memory of him. I don't have many memories of him, but the ones I do have are good. "Anyway, thanks for helping me. I feel bad that I don't know your name. What is it?"

"I'm Yuki Sohma," he says, still with a stunned expression.

"Well then, Yuki, I really owe you one. So if you ever need a favor, go ahead and ask," I say. Then the lunch bell rings.

"Well I'm going to go to the cafeteria before the lunch line gets too long. Maybe we can talk again soon?"

"Sure, and thanks so much, again," I cheeseburger grin. I think I might have a friend.

Then I sit back down at my desk and take an apple out of my bag. I know it's not much of a lunch, but it's better than nothing. It's nice and quiet in the classroom, so I'll just stay here. And just when I think I that the room is mine, I'm dead wrong. Of all people, Highlighter Head sits next to me. So I just stare at my apple and avoid eye contact at all costs.

"Is there something especially interesting about that apple?" Then I just stuff my earbuds in and ignore him. I don't even have music on, but maybe he'll leave me alone. "Do you have to be like that?"

"Look, I've been getting the impression that you don't really get along with "freaks" so I think I'll be going." Then I get up to leave.

"Wait, I wanted to apologize," he says grabbing me by the forearm. And I immediately squeak because he grabbed a bruise. Instead of letting go like any normal person, he gives me a curious look and I freeze. He starts to roll up my sleeve and I try to slap away his hands, but it doesn't do me any good. So he reveals a big black bruise. I open my mouth to make an excuse, but he keeps my arm clenched in his big fist and moves my hair out of the way so he can see the cut on my neck and says, "What the hell?!"


	2. Chapter 2

Why are you so beaten up?!"

"One scratch and a bruise isn't that bad." I say prying his fingers off my arm.

"There are probably more. They're being covered by your clothes."

"Y-you don't know that!" Then he looks down on me with eyes that'll burn a hole right through you. "I-I have to go," I say grabbing my book bag. Then I run out of the room. I don't know where I'm going, but I have to get out of here! _Someone found out. I can't believe I let this happen. I hope he doesn't say anything._

Then, I'm saved. A bell rings and the principals' voice comes in over the intercom. "Students, please don't panic. We have a very minor gas leak," an old man rasps. "Please exit the building immediately. Today we'll have an early release, so you can go home. Have a nice day."

Then everybody floods the halls and tries to get out the door as fast as they can. The gas starts to fill my nose and lungs, so I take a couple of puffs from my inhaler and make my way out the door. Wow, it's really starting to get cold.

I take the train back to the apartment and take a deep breath before I unlock the door. When I walk in, I find Jin in his usual spot in the living room. He takes a gulp of his beer before saying," Why are you home? You better not be ditching." _If I was ditching, I would try to avoid this apartment at all costs._

"I'm not, there was a gas leak at school so everybody went home."

"Oh," he says. "In that case, it's lunch time and I'm pretty damn hungry."

"Is there anything in particular that you want to eat?" I think he's sort of in a good mood and I'm going to keep it that way.

"Miso soup,"he grunts.

"Okay, I'll have that ready in a few minutes."

"Whatever, just make it snappy." That's Jin for you: less blunt than a spoon. "Hey."

"What's up?"

"How was your aunt today," he says desperately avoiding eye contact.

"She was good and just as spunky as usual." See, he cares! "I think some of the color is coming back to her face." I stand over the stove waiting for some kind of response. And I get absolutely nothing.

And it's utter silence for the next fifteen minutes. It's not awkward silence, it's kind of like the calm before the storm. I feel like something bad is going to happen. "Are you finished with that soup yet?"

"Almost", I say stirring it a little. Then he gets up from the couch and tips over to me. Then he grabs my wrist and shoves it to the bottom of the pot. I feel the metal and boiling water singe my skin in slow motion, then a scream that even curdles my blood comes from me. I try to yank my hand out, but he just keeps it there. "Uncle Jin! S-STOP!"

"It's all your fault! She was just fine until she had to go to your good-for-nothing fathers' funeral! And then she had to take care of you! It's all your fault! Everything's your fault!" Then he pulls my hand out of the soup and pushes me to the ground.

I keep my head to the tile and my hand feels like its on fire. Then I look at it and its swollen and bloody. "Go get cleaned up. We're going to visit Matilda before your shift starts."

"Yes sir," I shiver. Then I scrape myself off the floor and walk to the restroom.

I shut the door behind me and run my hand under cold water. Then I change into the jeans and sweater I left this morning. I look at myself in the mirror and think ,'This is ridiculous. I can't stay, this man is going to kill me.'

I take a gulp and pull my emergency duffle from the linen closet. It has my work and school uniforms, a sleeping bag, a jar of rainy day money And some pictures that I could never stand to lose. I will visit Aunt Matty tonight and tell her to get better. And then I'll run.

I come out of the restroom and Jin is waiting for me. "What's with the bags," he eyes me suspiciously. Who could blame him, I have a tote and my backpack.

"Its just my work uniform, I didn't really want to go to the hospital in it."

"What about your backpack?"

"I got swamped with homework, so I'm going to try and work on it during my break," I smile nonchalantly.

"Fine," he mumbles. "Let's go." Then I follow him out to his car and get ready to leave my temporary home. I don't know where I can go after tonight. But I have to be anywhere but here.

We drive to the hospital and I can't even look at him. I keep my eyes on window and its still snowing really hard. I still feel like something awful is going to happen. Although, burning my hand in boiling soup was pretty bad, I still feel like something even worse is going to go down.

When we come to Aunt Mattys' room the door is shut and a male nurse is standing guard. Immediately, Jin begins to panic. "What's going on in there?!"

"Are you related to Matilda Okozawa," he says to us.

"I'm her husband," he yells. "what's happening to my wife!"

"I'm sorry, Sir," he says solemnly. "The time of death was half past ten." Then I feel the room spin and then I just see Jin's fist. I never even felt it make contact with my face. All I know is that I was standing there one minute, and I was on the the floor a second later. Then I come back to the real world when I feel his foot crash into my ribs and hear a crack.

"IT'S ALL YOUR FAULT! Everything was perfect until you came along! We were happy! You ruined everything!" Then I see him get ready to pounce on me, but the nurse holds him back.

I don't know what's happening. This has to be a bad dream. It has to be! _Georgie, what's wrong with you? Run!_

I feel numb. I don't even know how I got up. When did I start running? I'm not even sure where I'm going. Everything is so blurry. Is it because I'm crying? Or is my brain turning to mush?

I don't know how far I've ran. The wind is picking up and I can't see anything. The whole world is white. I'm in a blizzard and it's taken me ten minutes to realize it. I'm lost. I don't have anywhere to go.

I feel around for something solid, anything. Then I find a wall. I run my burnt fingers all around it for a door. And then I find where it ends and feel another side of it, it think this is a building!

While I'm looking for a door I hear a desperate meow and a scratching sound. I follow the sound and I can make out an orange blob scratching against wood. Then I get really excited because it's a door! This poor cat is trying to find shelter too.

I find the knob and turn it. To my delight, it's unlocked. I scoop up the cat and the lump its standing on, it feels like cloth. Then I get us in and pull the door shut.

It takes a minute for my eyes to adjust and then I realize that we're in an abandoned warehouse. I just sit against the wall and let everything sink in. I'm not numb anymore, my adrenaline is gone and I feel pain in every inch of my body. I just stay still. I feel broken and cold. It takes a minute for me to realize the cat is too. "Aww you poor thing, you're frozen," I say petting him. Then I wrap him in the cloths he was standing on. It's kind of weird, I picked up a pair of pants, a coat and a shirt. I unzip my duffel and cover myself with the sleeping bag, but it's not doing me much good. I'm shaking so violently that it actually hurts. My lips are probably turning blue, they always do that in the cold. My entire body is racked in chills, but this cat stays perfectly still. He looks comfortable and almost sorry for me. Maybe it's just my imagination, but he looks almost concerned.

I don't know why, but I just lose it. Well, I know why, but I don't want to admit that things are getting out of control. Not even to myself. But I can't stop the tears from pouring. It seems like the harder I try to stop, the more the water works flow.

I cry and just hold this little orange cat. He isn't struggling or trying to get away from me. He is the only person in the world that might possibly care about me. I only have his shoulder to cry on.

I'm not sure how long I'm like that, probably a good fifteen minutes. "I'm sorry Mr. Cat," I sniffle," I've just had a bad day. I d-don't have a family anymore. And I'm not sure what's going to happen to me." Then he looks at me like he knows what I'm saying. "But it's okay, whenever something bad happens I only cry for a little bit. And then I try to come up with a plan to make things better." then I pet him behind the ears and let a few more tears slide.

I fall into a dreamless sleep and I'm still holding this cat in my arms. He's warm and I just feel so cold. I sleep for a good hour or so and then I hear this poof. I creak an eye open and I see a boy, a very naked boy."Oh geez!" I squeak. But he gets dressed as fast as he can. It takes me a minute to recognize who he is, but when I do my heart starts to pump and I break into a sweat. "W-wait you're that guy from my class! What just happened," I say weakly. He was a cat and now he's a person!

Instead of answering my question, his hand flies to my forehead and he says," Oh god, you have a fever!" I can't even keep my head up, it feels too heavy. "We have to find you a doctor."

"But I can't afford it. I can't-" I can't even finish my sentence. "If I just get some rest, I'll be fine." Then he moves the hair out of my face so you can see the black eye.

"Georgie, who did this to you."

" It's only a black eye," I croak.

He crouches down to my level and grabs me by the chin, so I'm forced to look at him. He stares at me hard with fiery eyes and I practically crumble underneath the pressure. "Give me a straight answer," he says with a lower, more serious tone. "Who beat you up so bad?"

It's impossible to not be a little afraid of him. He's obviously not going to be satisfied until I tell him the truth, so I guess that's what I'll have to do. So I take a deep breath, well it's more like weak wheezing, but you get the idea. "My aunts' husband...he kind of flew off the handle today," I chuckle inappropriately.

Then he looks at my hand. "Did he do that too?" He looks like he wants to kill Jin.

"It's not a big deal," I whisper.

"What else has he done to you?"

"It might be easier to ask what he hasn't done to me." It takes a second for my walls to crumble when I think of going back. I completely lose it and I can't keep up the show. So I blurt out,"Just... P-please don't send m-me back. It'll only g-get w-w-worse. He'll only hit harder. I can't handle it a-anymore-"

"Shh," he says softly. "I won't make you go back. I'll take you somewhere safe." Then, he pulls out a cellphone and dials a number. I don't know what happened after that. I think I fell asleep.

When I wake up, I'm lying in the backseat of a car and I only see the back of Cat Boy's head and a man with dark hair and a suit is driving. I try to sit up and the man says," Don't move or else you might break another rib."

"One of my ribs is broken?!"I squeak. I've never had a broken bone in my life!

"No, two of them are," he says in an indifferent tone.

"I'm sorry, for causing you two so much trouble."

"It's not your fault," he says. "From what Kyo has told me, I understand that you have a very abusive uncle."

"Yes sir."

"How did you come to live with this man?"

"My aunt was technically my legal guardian, so she let me live with her and her new husband. But she's been in the hospital since we came back to Japan. She was supposed to be released tomorrow. But I don't think it's going to happen."

"I see," he says knowing exactly what I mean. "What about your parents?"

"My mom was a victim of 9/11 and my dads' submarine was attacked a couple of months ago."

"You have been through a lot in a very short amount of time, haven't you?"

"Yes sir," I say weakly. "But things could be worse."

"Hmm," is his only reply. I just lay there, thinking of what to do. Then it hits me.

"There wouldn't happen to be a homeless shelter nearby, would there?"

Then every hair on Kyo's head stands up straight. "We aren't going to dump you in a shelter!"

"I'm not really sure if I have any other options. If take the late shift at work for awhile and pick up another job I might be able to get an apartment. It'll work out."

"You're making things too hard on yourself! You're only fifteen, you shouldn't have to work two jobs," he seethes.

"I'm fourteen, actually, and I'll get by just fine."The ache in my voice kind of takes the believability out of my argument.

"What!? That is even more reason for you not to be able to support yourself!"

"But I don't know what else I can do," I shiver.

"We'll figure something out, okay!" Those words give me warmth. But he has nothing to do with the situation. I'm not sure if anyone can help me. Then the car stops.

"Where are we?" My voice sounds so small. I only feel like I'm only half here. The other half of me feels dead.

"We're at my cousins' house," the man says. "I'll be able to treat your injuries inside." Then he slips out of the car and Kyo does too. Before I can even get up, this guy opens my door for me and carries me out of the car. I don't even protest, I just snuggle into him for any warmth I can get. And he is really warm.

Then he takes me into the house and there are two other people waiting for us. There is an incredibly shocked man in a traditional robe with dark hair and he's probably in his mid-twenties. Then I see Yuki!?

"What happened to her," he shouts at Kyo.

"I found her in the blizzard and she was like this."

"Who thought that Kyo would be the type to save a damsel in distress," the older one chuckles.

"It wasn't like that! She is seriously doing badly!" they're completely excluding me from the conversation.

Then the man in the suit intervenes. "You three can fight amongst yourselves later, this girl is very weak and has a lot of bodily damage," He says with a hint of concern. "Yuki, go get a sleeping mat, and Shigure you need to help me make some room for her in here." Then Yuki walks out of the room and the two men move the table out of the way.

When Yuki comes back with the mat, he lays it on the ground and Kyo sets me down as carefully as possible. "Alright, I need you three to leave the room before I can start working."

"But-" The boys shout at the same time.

"No buts, I can't have any distractions," he cuts them off. Then he gestures them to leave. The boys look hesitant before reluctantly going into the kitchen. Then he looks at me and says," Do you think you can sit up?"

Haha, NO. "I think so, but can you give me a hand," I say guiltily.

"Of course," he says in his proper tone. He supports my back with one hand and holds the bruised end of my arm with the other. I suck in a painful breath when I sit up and just try to grin through the pain. "I'm going to need you to take off your shirt," he says blankly.

"O-okay. Um, you are a real doctor, right?"

"Yes, and I have diplomas and licenses that I can produce on demand if you don't believe me."

"I was just making sure. It's not that you don't look like a doctor! I just don't want to take off my shirt for somebody random," I say with sheer panic. I hope I didn't offend him.

Then he chuckles. "I can assure you that I'm not somebody that would pretend to be a doctor just to see girls without their clothes on. That actually sounds more like Shigure."

"Oh. Thanks for the heads up." I slip my sweater over my shoulders. Then I see the look of absolute shock spread across his face, probably something I will never see again.

Then he clears his throat," My, you have acquired quite a collection of bruises and cuts."

"Yes sir," I say looking down. I am almost completely black and blue and there are so many cuts. I don't know how I was able to hold out for so long. I don't know why I never hit back. I don't know why I didn't put all those self defense classes to good use. I don't know why I tried to justify what he was doing. I don't know why I left Colorado. I don't know why I'm here.

He starts to wrap gauze around my rib cage and I try not to scream from the pain. I can feel things moving around inside of me that aren't meant to move! "The best thing I can do for your bruises is rub some Aloe in and give you some pain relievers. In the mean time, I'm going to wrap your hand so it doesn't get exposed to any bacteria while it heals. In about fifteen days you should be good as new."

"Thank you. That actually sounds great," I smile. Then he takes a handful of goo from a bottle and applies it to my back. "Um, is it okay if I ask you a question?"

"Sure," he says rubbing it in.

"When Kyo found me, he wasn't a person. He was a cat, I can't explain how, but I heard a popping sound and there he was. I know I'm sick, but I don't think I was hallucinating. I'm just really confused-"

"Kyo isn't the only one who transforms into an animal. There are twelve more of us," He says while bandaging my hand. "Tell me, do you know the story of the twelve zodiacs?"

"Yeah, but what does that have to do with it?"

"Each of us represents one of the years from the story. Whenever we are embraced by somebody of the opposite gender or we come under a great deal of stress, we transform into the twelve animals of the Zodiac plus the cat. It's been our family curse for many generations."

"Well that explains why Yuki was so freaked out today, but why didn't he turn into an animal?"

"What happened with Yuki?" He says with raised eyebrows.

"Oh, we sort of bumped into each other this morning," I try to hide an insane blush. "My point is that he didn't transform."

"Yes, I noticed that you had that same effect on Kyo. I'm very curious as to why they didn't transform when they came into contact with you."

"Maybe it's because I don't have the same religious views as you." It's a possibility.

"I doubt that religion has anything to do with the situation, but I might have a few theories as to why they have remained the same, but it's too soon determine anything." He starts to put his things away, then he stops to give me a curious look. "Would you mind if...never mind."

"Would I mind if what?" I say, tilting my head to the side a bit.

"It's silly and highly unprofessional."

"Dr. Sohma, I realize that I'm probably not functioning at full capacity right now. But I think that I can put two and two together. I guess that being able to hug a person is kind of a bizarre concept with you guys, and that something is really...unusual about me. So it might seem to good to be true, but you won't know until you test it out yourself." He lifts the visible eyebrow at me, and I proceed to put my shirt back on."What I'm trying to say is," I take a deep breath."You can hug me if this situation is bugging you that much." His eyes widen and I smile awkwardly. He sort of looks like he's at a loss for what to do. I think I would be too, if this were my first hug.


	3. Chapter 3

I think that I need to sort of get the ball rolling. So I lean over and wrap my arms around his shoulders, even though it's killing my ribs. But I don't squeak. Instead I say,"See. Nothing's happening."

He stays silent and does't really attempt to hug back. So I take the hint and let go.

"Okay. Thank you so much for fixing me up. How much do I owe you?"

"Consider it a favor, I'm just glad you're out of that environment."

"Thank you so much, Dr. Sohma." I bow, because it's probably the polite thing to do. I know that I probably look really awkward, but I hope he gets the gist.

"There's no need to be that formal. My name is Hatori and I'd prefer it if you would call me that instead."

"If that's what floats your boat," I grin. Yes! This guy isn't a total tightwad.

Then he sort of half-smiles. "I should probably let you get some rest. I'd suggest that you don't put a lot of strain on yourself."

"Yes sir." I slip my shirt back on before I lay down again. "I really can't thank you enough. If you and Kyo hadn't found me, I don't know what would've happened."

"I'm just doing my job," He says modestly. "I'd best be going. I have other duties at home." Then he opens the door to the kitchen and you can see that everyone was huddled against it. "You don't have to worry about Georgie, she just needs time to heal. But I want the three of you to take turns keeping an eye on her. If the fever isn't broken by tomorrow, call me and I'll come over. Do you understand," he says mainly to the older man.

"Hari, you say that like you think we're incapable of taking care of a human being," he says humorously.

"Oh, I trust the boys, Shigure. It's you that I'm concerned about," he glares.

"That really hurt," he says with fake tears. Hatori just rolls his eyes before walking out the door. Then I'm left alone with these guys. Shigure claps his hands together and says," So, who wants the first shift?"

"Oh, that isn't necessary. I'll probably be asleep in the next five minutes, so I don't need to be monitored or anything." The idea of somebody watching me while I sleep just creeps me out.

"Georgie, you have to be watched under doctors' orders," he teases. "Hatori will be very angry with us if something were to happen to you."

"Oh. Okay," I say with my eyes already half closed. I'm too tired to argue.

"I can watch her for a couple of hours," Yuki says.

"In that case, I'll go to my study for awhile," Shigure says cheerily. Kyo just glares at Yuki before he disappears up the stairs. And then we are very, utterly, and completely alone.

"This isn't exactly what you had in mind when you said' maybe we'll see each other again', huh," I try to joke.

"I suppose this is a bit of a strange situation," he says rubbing the back of his neck.

"I don't know, I think it's better that I'm here instead of with my uncle. He needs some time to himself right now."

"Or a restraining order."

"I know this looks bad, but he had his reasons."

"There is never a good reason to hit someone smaller than you," he says sternly.

"I had it coming; I did something terrible, y'know?" I cover my eyes with the good hand so he doesn't see the tears that are going to burst out any second.

"What exactly did you do?"

"I'm the reason my aunt died," I rasp. A big knot forms in the back of my throat, not the asthmatic kind, it feels so much worse than that.

"What do you mean?"

"She was doing just fine until she went back to Colorado for the funeral. It put too much strain on her to come get me. It's my fault that she got as bad as she did," I say covering my face. "Jin is a man of passion. He loves Aunt Matty with everything he has; and he hates me with a fiery passion for what I did. I don't blame him." Then there is a moment of painful silence. I peek in between the fingers of my hand and he is just looking at me. "But, I'm not gonna depress you with my family issues. I'm just-" He moves a bit of hair out of my face and I feel my eyes get wet '_I'm not going to cry, I'm not going to cry. Just stay strong Georgie! You're tougher than this' _I think to myself. I try to hold a sob in the back of my throat. It's not working!

"Miss Sanchez, please just cry if you need to."

"I'm f-fine," I cough. I'm not. I want to break down. I want to lose myself like dad did, but I can't. I still have my whole future ahead of me. There are so many things to be done. I can't afford to zone out.

"I think everything will be okay. Things can only get better from here, right?" I feel myself relax a slightly and I curl up into a little ball underneath the blanket and I slowly drift into a restless sleep.

In the dream...

_Where am I? I look around and I'm in a very bright room with a small bed. Inside the bed is a very pale, very thin woman. She's fading fast, and I mean that literally! She's turning to dust and all I can do is watch. Before she is completely gone, she smiles. She doesn't scream or give a final wish, she dies smiling. I try to reach out to touch her withering hand, but the room falls apart with her! the floor crumbles from underneath me and I plummet into sheer emptiness._

_When I finally hit something solid, I hit a metal floor. Where ever I am, it's dark and hot, but there is an eerie red light flashing so I can see a little bit. There are a lot of people panicking and trying to shout over an ear-splitting alarm And in all the chaos, one man is standing perfectly still and smiling. He's a dark complected man with oily black curls and one dimple on the right side of his mouth. I know exactly where I am, and I need to get out! Then I feel a puddle of water growing around me. At first it's only at my ankles, but it starts to rise. In a matter of seconds it's up to my throat and as it gets to my eyes, he turns to a blur. It takes me a second to realize that I can't breathe and I start thrashing around,trying to find air. When I can't hold my breath any longer, I pass out._

_At some point I wake up on a bench. I look up and there are two very large buildings. And underneath them is a lady with beautiful red hair and a camera. I try to scream"Get out of here!" but nothing comes out of my mouth. I try to yell at her to move. And then I hear the plane engine. She sees it and turns to face me. She smiles like the others did, but this time she actually says something. "Bye, Georgie. " Immediately after that, the first plane hits. The sky is raining debris and fire, while the smoke burns my eyes and throat. It becomes so bad that I fall to my knees in a choking fit and I am blinded by a cloud of dust._

_"Georgie, wake up," I scream at myself. "It's just a dream, wake up!"_

My eyes flit open and I shoot straight up. Immediately, I feel the pang in my ribs and I let out a painful breath, but somebody is there to keep me from falling back down. "Hey take it easy before you break another bone," Kyo says worriedly.

"I'm sorry," I mumble. Oh god, that was awful. My heart is still pounding.

"What happened in that dream?"

"Nothing, it was just a nightmare," I say wiping the sweat from my brow.

"Are you okay?"

"Yeah, I'm fine," I shiver. "How long have I been out?"

"Only an hour." I try to sit up on my own and I'm failing. "Hatori said not to put any strain on yourself, you shouldn't sit up yet."

"I appreciate the thought, but I'm not going to use you as a crutch. It'll probably do me good to get used to moving around on my own." I try to pry his fingers from my elbow, but it's like he's glued to me. "Kyo, I'm okay."

"I'm not gonna let go of you, Georgie."

"Jeez man, I'm not gonna break!" I hiss.

"Do you have to be so damn stubborn!?"Why does he look pissed? He shouldn't be so butthurt about the situation!

"I'm a soldier's kid, I have to be stubborn or else the world will chew me up and spit me out!"

"You need to slow down and quit pushing yourself so hard-"

"You don't get it, do you?" I cut him off. He doesn't know anything about me. This guy barely knows my name.

"What are you talking about?!" He says with total confusion.

"I have to push myself because I'm on my own. I don't have an über rich cousin to take care of me. I can't afford to sit here feeling sorry for myself because I need to figure out how I'm going to get by. I don't have anybody anymore," my voice scratches. "I'm alone," I say holding back tears. I swallow a sob and we sit there in a dead silence. But he still hasn't let go of my arm, and I can't bring myself to look at him.

"Georgie," he says. I still don't make eye contact, but I know he's looking right at me. "Look, I know that you've probably been through a lot more than I can Imagine. But I promise that I will be here to help you get through this." I can't gulp down the tears anymore. I let them stream down my cheeks. I never cry, never. But why can I do it so easily in front of him?

"W-why are you being so nice to me?" I say barely loud enough for him to hear.

"Huh?"

"You don't even know me, but you still decided to pull me out of the blizzard. You and Hatori could've dropped me off at a shelter or something, but you didn't. Why did you guys want to take care of me?"

"I don't know. You've got a lot going on right now and..." he trails off. This guy seriously doesn't have a logical reason. "Honestly speaking, you just need somebody to have your back. Ya' know, somebody to depend on."

"So you'll have my back from now on?" Yeah, right. I don't need somebody to catch me when I fall. I'm used to picking myself up when that happens.

"Yeah, I guess so." This guy doesn't know what he's getting himself into. But I've never really had somebody so concerned for me. Everybody always assumed that I would be okay on my own. Nobody has ever worried about me before. Then I feel a shiver crawl down my spine and it kind of racks my whole body. "Hey, are you okay?"

"Yeah, I'm just cold." I wrap the blanket around me even though it's mostly my hands that are chilled to the bone. It's almost like he can read my mind because he cups my hands in between his and exhales warm air to my fingers. It's a good thing it's dark right now, because I'm probably turning five different shades of red. I suddenly don't feel cold anymore. Oh geez! Keep calm, Georgie. Be cool! "You feel a little cold too." So much for being cool. "I have something that'll be great for days like this."

"Georgie, what are you talking about?"

"You'll see," I say grabbing my emergency duffel. I dig through it until I feel the pentagon shaped box. Then I pull it out and he looks severely confused. "Abuelita Chocolaté!" That's the stuff!

"You're losing me with the English talk!"

"it's actually Spanish for Grandma's hot chocolate." Then I open the yellow box to show him the contents and he looks even more confused.

"Uh, Georgie," he says.

"Yeah," I answer.

"This box is full of bricks," he says blankly.

"Kyo, they melt when you cook them."

"I knew that!" he says defensively.

"Alright then, let's go to the kitchen. " I want to hoist myself up, but he doesn't even let me try. Instead, he lifts me up by the underarms until I can get to my feet. "I think I can walk on my own, so-"

"Yeah, yeah, yeah, I get the point. I'm not gonna make you lean on me," He says in that tough guy tone of his.

"Thanks," I pad my way to the kitchen and it's huge! It's all American appliances. Oh thank god, I finally have something familiar. These cupboards are kind of interesting though. They have a wooden frame but the doors are made from glass. I scan them carefully until I find the saucepan I need. Then I grab a gallon of milk from the fridge before I turn the stove on. I'm so excited, I've been dying to make this. I open the milk carton and Kyo kind of stops me.

"Don't you need a measuring cup?"

"Not really. I always do it by eye."

"Won't it get watery if you put in too much milk?"

"Would you believe me if I told you that I have a freaky sixth sense when it comes to food?" I pour the milk in and throw in a chocolate brick. "It runs in the family."

"That must be nice, Yuki burns water and Shigure doesn't know how to make anything decent. I always get stuck doing all the cooking and they still complain about it," he says with a positively pissed expression.

"I wasn't always good at cooking. When I was younger, I basically lived off peanut butter and jelly sandwiches. I didn't really get the hang of using a stove until I was six."

"Most people don't get the hang of using a stove until they're out of high school. You should give yourself a little more credit than that," he blinks.

"I don't know, you're supposed to start cooking really young. Or at least it's like that with my dads side of the family. If you couldn't use knives or the oven, you shredded cheese or peeled potatoes."

"What is your dads culture?!"

"We're Mexican. We make amazing food," I say dreamily.

"And where exactly is that country?"

"It's underneath north America. The country isn't exactly in the best shape, but I like the heritage."

"And what's your mom's heritage?"

"She was a little bit of everything in Europe. I'm kind of a mutt when you think about it," I giggle. "But I think she was mostly Irish. I was too young to remember a whole lot about her."

"How old were you when... You know..."

"I was three and a half. I was too little to really understand what was going on, but I remember my dad was watching the news and he started panicking. You see, my mom went to New York City to try and make amends with my aunt over inheritance stuff. And she wanted to do some sight seeing, so she went to the Twin Towers that day," I say. I don't know if my chest feels tight because of an asthma issue or because I never talk about this. Dad was never willing to discuss the issue. He packed up and left as soon as the war broke out. He was in a submarine in god knows where for the past eleven years to avenge her death. I only got to talk on the phone with him on Christmas and my birthday, so I tried not to bring it up. "But, stuff happens."

"That has to be rough on you, though," He says in a dazed way. Like he's deep in thought or having a memory.

"But it gave me some real world experience. I was already taking the city bus when I was five. And I learned that if someone was going to give you trouble that you needed to keep a roll of quarters on you."

"A roll of quarters? Why?"

"Well, I'm a relatively smaller person. Someone your size has a few pounds on me, so you're stronger. If I run into a creeper, I wouldn't stand a chance..."

"WHAT DOES A ROLL OF QUARTERS HAVE TO DO WITH IT!"Calm your tits man!

"If I put a roll of quarters in my fist I'll punch harder. That's what you do when you can't afford pepperspray."

"But you never actually had to use them right?" He kind of has a little bead of sweat running down his temple. Is he intimidated by tough girls or something?

"Nah, I didn't attract much attention to myself so nobody ever tried anything." Except for that one homeless guy that tried to take my wallet a couple of months ago. "It was just better to be safe than sorry," I say nervously.

"That's good, I guess," he says nonchalantly. Like he wasn't concerned or anything. And then I hear a low rumble deep in the universe.

"Hot chocolate's ready," I smile. I pour the bubbling brown liquid into a mug. When I hand it to him he looks at it like it might be poisoned. "Kyo, it's just hot chocolate. It won't bite."

"I'm not a big fan of sugar," he says blankly.

"In that case, you have nothing to worry about. It's cinnamon," I say making him take the mug. Then he eyes me suspiciously. "C'mon, just take a sip. If you don't like it, I won't make you drink it."

"But I'm positive that I won't like it!" He whines. I feel like I'm trying to reason with a kindergartener!

"How do you know you don't like it? You haven't tasted it," I say with one raised eyebrow.

"Fine!" Kyo looks down at the cinnamon swirling at the top. And he makes a face. Then he takes a quick swig from the mug and his eyes glimmer for a split second. Then he clears his throat. "Alright, I tried it. Now I don't have to drink it," He says, shoving the mug in my hands.

"Are you sur-"

"I didn't like it, okay?!" He sort of screams.

"O-okay! Sorry, I just thought that maybe you would. But it's cool! Hot chocolate isn't everybody's thing. I guess that you're probably more biased to tea-"

"Georgie, you're rambling," he says in a slightly calmer tone.

"Sorry," I say bashfully. I always ramble when I feel like someone is going to lose it. It's not one of my better traits.

"Well, take a sip already-" And he's cut off by a book flying into his face like a boomerang. And when it flies back to the owner, I see that it's Shigure. "WHAT THE HELL WAS THAT FOR!" He says, holding his cheek.

"Kyo, we don't talk to our guests like that! You should be grateful, if not guilty, that she made you a nice, hot drink," He says with a smug look.

"WHAT?! Why should I be guilty?!"

"She's sick, and yet you're letting her cook for you!"

Then I come out of my complete shock to say," Wait, this isn't Kyo's fault. I just wanted to get out of that bed mat for a little while and I thought I'd make some hot chocolate while I was at it. Mr. Shigure, please don't ever throw a book at Kyo ever again, you could've taken his jaw out!" Then Yuki appears through the doorway with a hard back book in his hands.

"What's going on in here?" He says with a slightly annoyed tone.

"Just Kyo being his usual inconsiderate self. You'll be happy to know that I gave him the proper scolding," he says with a little too much pride.

"Did you have to make so much noise? I thought someone had broken in," He says calmly. But a hint of anger is rising to the surface.

"Wait a second. You thought that someone was robbing the house, so your weapon of choice is a dictionary?" What is it with these guys and big books?

Then he looks like he just noticed that he was carrying it around. "Oh, I just grabbed the first thing on my night stand."

"So you sleep with a Japanese to English dictionary?" I say looking at the cover.

"Um, I was studying for a quiz in English 1. I sort of fell asleep with it," he says hiding a faint blush.

"Well I'm sorry that we woke you guys, but as long as you're up would you like some hot chocolate?" I say already grabbing two mugs.

"Uh, okay," they say at the same time. When I hand them a mug they're a little more open to trying it. They willingly take a healthy gulp and let out a simultaneous "Mmmmmmm."

"It really hits the spot on cold nights like this, right?"

"Definitely," Shigure says in kind of a dreamy tone. Then he takes another gulp.

Yuki just sips in silence and smiles a warm smile. "This makes me not mind the winter so much."

It takes the average person about ten minutes to finish a cup of hot chocolate. Well, the three of us may have taken a good hour. We had a long conversation about normal things like our childhoods and how I came to live in Japan.

"So before my dad passed, the man in the apartment next door was my temporary legal guardian. His name is Mel and he was one of the nicest guys around. And his sons are a little older than me so they were like big brothers. The four of them had an amazing sense of humor, but could not cook if the human race depended on it. So I learned really young and basically cooked for all the major holidays. But it was fun," I giggle at all of my memories. "And they taught me my third language."

"What language did they teach you," Yuki says curiously.

"They are deaf so I had to learn sign language to break the language barrier," I sign while I talk. You can tell that these three guys are awe stricken by the movement of my fingers. I guess that they've never really seen something like this before. "But when I got his flag in the mail, Aunt Matty took custody over me and she came to stay with me for a couple of months. But Jin couldn't come with her because of his job, so he stayed behind. And eventually she had to come back to him so that meant that I had to leave home. But I didn't know that Aunt Matty had aids until we came to Japan. And then she caught the flu and couldn't get better. I don't think she went in pain. I think she was asleep." And then their eyes go wide. Well only Yuki and Shigure have that reaction. Kyo just turns away from me completely.

Then the older one coughs. "So what do you plan on doing from here?"

"I might have to drop out of school and get a day job, so I can rent an apartment."

"Georgie, how old are you?" hes getting slightly off topic.

"Fourteen and three quarters," I say.

' "Dear, you're still a minor. I hate to say it, but you're probably going to be put in foster care."

Then a lump forms in my throat. I feel like I just got hit by a ton of bricks. The thought of being in a group home scares me! As if being in a foreign country wasn't enough! "Oh, the thought hadn't occurred to me. I guess you're right," I choke.

Then I hear a fist slam into the counter. Kyo still has his back to me, but I can tell that he's clenching his teeth in frustration. "It's not fair!"

"Kyo, it's ok-" then I'm cut off.

"No it's not okay! You've been through enough heartache already! You shouldn't have to uproot yourself again. I know that you're acting like you'll be fine, but that's just the tough girl act that you've been putting on for everyone! Don't act like the idea of going to a foster home doesn't bother you, because I can tell that your heart sank a little!"

"Kyo, it's inevitable. There's nothing I can do," I say quietly. My voice I just a wisp compared to his. I can't compete with his yelling.

Then he turns to face Shigure. "Isn't there something you can do?"

"Well, I might be able to become Georgie's foster dad-"

"That's really sweet, but I can't impose on you like that. You've opened your home to me and you've all been so nice to me. I couldn't ask you to take me in. Not after everything you've already done for me," I shiver. This would only be a temporary thing. I don't want to get attached to a family that I can't really have.

"Georgie, you need to consider this. You don't really have anywhere to go," Yuki says. And he looks at me with light, misty eyes and an expression that could make you cry.

Then I suck in a huge sigh. "Alright, but only until I'm of age and I swear to god I'll be out of your hair forever. I don't want any help with school finances and I have to do something in return for staying here."

Then, at the exact same time, they scream,"COOKING!"

And a look, almost a smirk spreads across Shigure's face. "So we can take that as a yes?"

I lay my head down on the table and mumble," Yes." Well, that was one heck of a whirlwind. This entire day has drained me physically and emotionally. Granted I slept for a few hours, but everything still feels so surreal. I'm not really sure if everything has sunken in yet. I would have cried a lot more today, if I hadn't been doing it so much for the past two months. I think that I cried myself dry. I'm just so tired.

Then a hand smooths the hair on the back of my head. And I feel my ponytail slowly loosen until my thick locks are completely free. They spill over my shoulders and onto the ground, but I remain still. It feels like my scalp can finally breathe. "It's probably time that you go back to sleep," he says. I don't even have to look at Shigure's face to know that he has that sly smile of his.

"I know, but I should do the dishes. It's a real pain to clean dried up milk if you leave it out all night long," I say trying to keep my eyes open.

"Georgie, I've got it. You just get some rest," Kyo says sternly.

"Are you sure-"

"Yes I'm sure. Now, go." So I stand up successfully and make my way to the door.

Then I turn around to say,"Thank you guys so much. I'm really grateful to you for taking me in." And I march my way back to the bed mat smiling the whole way.

At some point Shigure and Yuki went back to bed and they left Kyo alone in the kitchen. And against the paper door I could make out his silhouette bringing a mug to his lips. I couldn't help but smile. These guys are very different from each other. But I think I'll enjoy getting to know their personalities. And maybe they'll enjoy getting to know me too.


	4. Chapter 4

The next morning, the sun is shining through the window, but it's still freezing. I curl up under the blanket even more and my ribs scream at me. In response, a dry squeak escapes from my lips. Just as my eyes are about to creak closed my bag starts ringing, vibrating and flashing. 'Oh, my phone.'

My body stays glued to the mat, but I can snake my good hand into the little pocket on my backpack. Squinting at my bright screen, I hold my breath because it's a blocked number. A million thoughts flash through my mind in that split second transition from looking at the caller I*D to actually answering the phone.

"Hello," I say, trying not to sound groggy.

"Hello, is this Georgie Sanchez?" An unfamiliar voice is on the other end of the line; it's a man.

"Speaking," I say nervously. My breathing gets shaky and the room starts to spin. I haven't even heard what this man has to say yet, but I'm already starting to have a panic attack.

"I'm officer Hiroshi with the sector C police station, calling in regards to Jin Okozawa."

"Yes?"

"A nurse at the Ottori Hospital branch filed a police report yesterday, and your uncle has been taken into custody." I release that breath that I was holding in. Is it a bad thing that I'm so relieved? "There's just one problem." Scratch that.

"What's wrong?" My grip tightens around the phone as I brace myself for impact.

"Mr. Okozowa left the hospital before we could arrest him. The hospital staff was able to look into some files and find his address and other information easily because he was Matilda Okozowa's in case of emergency contact. We were able to track him down at his apartment where we successfully took him into custody. But..."

"But?"

"He completely vandalized the apartment. It was mostly your belongings and personal items that he destroyed." Why am I not surprised?

"It's okay, all of that stuff can be replaced. I just need to know..." I pause and take a deep breath. "You're not going to let him out, right?"

"Don't worry, that man is going away for quite awhile. But just to be sure, we'd like to have you come down to the station and let us take some pictures of the damage he's done. It'll help us while we file the report so we have evidence to back up your case and put him in prison for as long as we possibly can." Whatever it takes to put him away.

"Sure, I can do that. When should I come?"

"Can you come in a couple of hours? Maybe 8:30?"

"I can make that work. What's the address?"

"Alright, grab a pen and paper," he says kind of friendly-like. You can tell that he's trying to be sympathetic, he probably knows about Matty too.

I scramble to grab a pencil and my sketchbook out of my backpack. At least it's not my dominant hand that's burnt. So I flip my journal to a clean page. "Alright, go ahead, I'm ready."

"You need to come into the west side of town. The building is on the intersection of 34th Ave. and Chestnut road. You need too look for building 3608 and ask the receptionist to see me." I scribble it down the best I can but it's a little awkward with one hand.

"Intersection of 34th Ave and Chestnut Road, building 3608," I say as I write. "I'll be there at 8:30 sharp. See you then." I hang up, stuff my pencil behind my ear and sigh deeply. I look at the time and it's not even six. I might as well get up and make breakfast before I head out.

I get up at a glacial pace, but I get up. I pad my way to the kitchen and raid the fridge for breakfast ingredients. after grabbing milk, carrots celery, onions, a chunk of beef and chrysanthemums, I get to work. I season the beef and let it sit for a few minutes while I cut the vegetables with one hand (which isn't exactly a picnic, but it works well enough). I make sure to slice the onions extra small, so then nobody will actually chomp into them but they'll taste the flavor. Then I throw them into a pot of milk so they'll cook nicely while I slice the meat, then I throw that in too. After putting a lid on the pot, I let the stew cook and turn my attention to the pantry.

There's a big bag of rice with a measuring cup and so I dump some into the rice cooker. Now that everything is all set, I rinse off the cutting board and knife with one hand. Then I put the leftover veggies back where I had found them.

But I described this whole process in a nutshell, I've actually killed an hour trying to get breakfast ready with the use of only one hand. It's already 7:00, but the stew can simmer for a couple of hours. I'll set the table really quick and be on my way.

As I'm searching the cupboards for bowls, I hear a door upstairs slide open. Footsteps descend down the stairs and Shigure appears. "Good morning," I say with a smile. And he gives me a confused look.

"Georgie, it's seven in the morning. What are you doing out of bed?"

"I could ask you the same thing," I say nonchalantly as I open the cupboard door.

"I came downstairs to check on you." He crosses his arms over his chest, then he gives me a look.

"What?" I groan. "I'm earning my keep. That was our deal, I cook in exchange for a place to stay." Then I pull three bowls down and shut the cupboard with my shoulder.

He walks towards me with an amused smile and takes the bowls from my hands. "I meant when you healed. Go back to sleep."

"I'm actually feeling pretty good considering...everything. And I have to head out soon; so if you can take the stew off the stove in an hour and a half, I'd really appreciate it."

"And where do you think you're going?" He does that sarcastic laughter, so he's not going to let me off easy.

"Jin got arrested, so I'm going to file a report with the police station. And I really need to do some shopping, so yeah," I say without making much eye contact.

"Wait, wait, what? Hold on, you're making a police report?"

"Well yeah, but I don't mind. It just means that he really will be put away, so he can't hurt anyone else." His eyes soften slightly. "So will you please take the stew off the stove at 8:30?"

"Not a chance."

"Shigure, it'll burn if you don't-"

"Kyo can do it, because he's already up. I'm coming with you."

"That's really sweet of you, but-"

"No buts, give me five minutes to get dressed and then we'll take the train." Before I can react, he disappears up the stairs.

"What just happened," I say to myself. I try to wrap my hair into a knot and use the pencil behind my ear to hold it in place. I look at myself in the reflection of the cupboard and my face looks pretty gnarly. I knew to expect the black eye but I don't remember when Jin clipped my bottom lip. People are going to stare. I pull my bangs to the side so they'll at least cover my eye.

Shigure eventually comes down the stairs in a nice suit. "Well aren't you looking swanky?"

"Why thank you. But don't you want to change?"

"The thing is, I only have my work uniform and my school clothes. According to the officer, Jin trashed all of my stuff. So this is my only set of normal clothes,"I say, gesturing to my sweater and jeans. He's a little shocked to say the least. "But I have some emergency cash so I can probably get another outfit, some sturdy boots and a coat."

"In the mean time, you can't go running around the city in that thin little sweater. You can borrow one of my old jackets." He leads me to a coat closet. He grabs his coat first and then hands me an older one, but it's kind of cool looking. It's a dark brown sports jacket with light brown patches on the elbows. I try it on and it's a little big, but it beats not having a coat at all. "You look good in my jacket, Georgie," he says with a wicked smile. Not knowing how to react, I just nod at him and hope to God that my cheeks aren't as red as I think they are.

After stuffing the inside pocket with my money, we leave.

-(TIME LAPSE)-

We're standing on the train and a stale feeling is hanging in the air. "So, what are you going to tell the police?"

"The truth," I shrug. "I think that the nurse pretty much told them the extent of what happened. The officer said that they need to take some pictures of the physical damage for evidence."

"That makes enough sense," he replies.

"I'm hoping that we can get in and out as fast as possible." I shiver at the thought of actually going to the police station.

"I thought that you were feeling confident about this," he says inquisitively.

"Don't get me wrong, he does need to be put away. But once I file this report, I have to acknowledge all of the abuse. I can't just brush it off anymore, it's going to become real. And I won't be able to pretend that it never happened. And I won't be able to pretend that I didn't get uprooted from another home, or that another family walked out of my life." I stare out the window, and all the buildings whizzing by. "It's almost like there's no time to grieve. Everything's been happening so fast, and I have to keep on moving forward or else the world might go on spinning without me."

"What do you mean, 'the world will go on spinning without you'?"

"I've seen what happens when people get caught up in their despair. When my mom died, my dad spiraled into depression. For months, he was stuck in September 11th. But that didn't stop the world from turning. Before he knew it, I turned four and he hadn't been mentally present to acknowledge that. He had been completely unaware that time had passed until he went into the war. And I can't afford to get caught up in my grief because I have too much going on right now."

In the background a couple of women are whispering. "Look at that guy."

"He's pretty good looking, huh?"

"Do you think that girl with the frizzy hair is his girlfriend?" Frizzy?

"No way. Someone that scruffy couldn't possibly be dating a guy like that." I am not scruffy!

"Should we go talk to him?"

"Yeah! let's go," the other one says excitedly. Suddenly, we hit a big bump on the track, which nearly knocks me over. But a strong hand catches me.

"You have to be more careful dear," He feigns concern. "You had better hold onto me the rest of the way, just to be safe." Then he wraps an arm around my waist and shoots me with a devilish wink. My face gets extremely red, I can feel it.

I crane my neck and I see the ladies walk to the back of the train with heads hung low.

"You owe me big, hunny," I say with a sour tone.

"Just pretend until we get off the train, it might be kind of fun," he whispers down to me.

"Just until we get off the train," I say shooting a fake smile at those girls, who are obviously still staring at us. I rest my head in that nook between his arm and his chest because he's a good head taller than me, so I can't quite reach his shoulder.

He kind of gets this dreamy look on his face, then it hits me. "This is you're first time hugging a girl, isn't it?" Then he sort of pauses.

"I suppose that it is," he chuckles.

"That means I don't get to see what you turn into. So what's your animal?"

"I have a feeling that you can guess," he says with a sly smile.

"Well, I know that Kyo is the cat. So I can rule out that option. Are you the tiger?"

"I'm flattered, but I'm not the tiger."

"Mmm...what about the ox?"

"The ox?"

"Well, you have a strong personality. So the ox seemed like a possibility."

"Just wait until you meet the actual ox, his mannerisms are far more severe," his voice sings.

"Oh wait, I know," I brighten up. "You're the dog, right?"

"Wow, you guessed a lot faster than I thought. How'd you know?"

"How do I put this? Dogs are kind of happy animals, and you seem like a generally happy person. And when dogs know that they're doing something wrong, they act all cute to get out of being punished and I feel like that's something that you might do." The man jut bursts into violent laughter, and he kind of vibrates. "What?"

"You're so blatantly honest," he says, wiping a tear from his eye.

"Is that a bad thing?" Damn it, me and my big mouth!

"No, it's refreshing." Then the train screeches to a halt. "This is our stop." He smiles and we step off the train.

-(TIME LAPSE)-

We walk up to the receptionists' desk and my stomach is in knots. "May I help you," a bespectacled old lady asks.

"I'm here to see Officer Hiroshi."

"Right this way," she says stepping away from the desk and she gestures for me to follow her.

The woman takes us to a small office in the back of the station. There are stacks of paperwork reaching from the floor to the ceiling. Even the desk is completely covered. And I almost overlooked the man behind the stack of manila folders. "Miss Sanchez, I presume?" I nod in response."Sit down, dear, we have lot to discuss."

-(TIME LAPSE)-

"So all of this abuse has been going on for almost a month?" He says, as he lights up a cigar.

"Yes sir," I say quietly.

"I'm sorry, Miss Sanchez. But the best I can do is put him in prison for a year, force him to take some anger management courses, and get you to sign a restraining order against him. Beyond that, there's not much else I can do to help."

"Now hold on just a minute," Shigure says from the back of the office. "This young lady has endured weeks of harsh, physical abuse and you mean to tell me that the best you can do is put this man behind bars for a year? That's-"

"Okay." Then both of their heads snap back at me. "If he learns to control his temper and I don't have to be near him again, then I'm fine with that." They both look a little shocked to say the least. I will myself not to cough at the smoke wafting from the cigar in the officers' mouth, so I change the subject. "You said something about taking photos for evidence over the phone. Do we still need to do that?"

-(TIME LAPSE)-

"Alright, hold still," the lady behind the camera says. And then a bright flash nearly blinds me. "Turn to the side." I turn to the side. Flash. "Let me see your back." I turn around. Flash. And for almost twenty minutes, she has me spread out my arms, remove my gauze, and I have to let her get all up in my personal space so she can get close ups of my face and neck. "I think that we have enough pictures now. Go ahead and put your shirt back on and then you can wait for your brother at the front desk."

"Oh, he's not my brother," I say slipping the sweater back on.

"What's your relationship with him," she says inquisitively.

"He's a good friend," I improvise. "And we've loosely discussed the idea of him becoming my foster parent.

"Well that's nice of him."

++++++++(While Georgie was taking pictures in the evidence locker)+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

"Mr. Sohma, what are your intentions regarding the girl at this point?" The officer puffs on his cigar and blows the smoke in Shigure's face.

"I would like to become the child's foster parent," he says cooly. The officer sighs.

"Look Shigure, raising a kid isn't easy. And it's even harder when they're teenagers. Right now, Georgie's emotionally unstable and more likely to be a flight risk."

"Flight risk?"

"You know," he puffs. "A lot of kids don't like the foster care system, so they try to run away from the foster home. Teenagers are usually more prone to leaving."

"Officer, I sincerely believe that I can provide a safe environment for the girl. I have a stable source of income, there's plenty of room for her and this isn't my first time raising a young adult. I'm already the legal guardian for two other boys about her age, so I know what I'm doing."

"I guess I can't argue with that, and you seem to have already made up your mind. So I'll give you a temporary certification until a social worker can come inspect the home."

+++++++++++++++++++++++++(TIME LAPSE)+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

Shigure meets me back at the reception area. "So what did Hiroshi have to say?"

"We were just getting some formalities out of the way. The important thing is that I got a temporary certification to be your guardian," he smiles.

"That's great," I laugh. Wow, genuine laughter. I'm actually pretty happy considering everything that's happened. "Thank you so much!"

"And you're all done with the woman in the evidence locker, correct?"

"Uh yeah. I think that we're free to leave now." So we walk out the door and walk onto the freezing street. There's barely three inches of snow on the ground, which is surprising because last nights storm was pretty gnarly. But that's just how some blizzards work. You don't need a lot of powder to get a dangerous storm as long as there's enough wind.

"So where are we off to now?" Shigure stuffs his hands into his pockets and looks at me expectantly.

"You can go home, if you want. But like I said, I need to do some shopping. So can I meet you back at the house in a few hours?"

"I'd feel better if you would let me come with you," he smiles.

"Are you sure? Shopping isn't exactly the most fun past time on the planet," I shrug. Guys NEVER enjoy following girls around stores and carrying their bags. Trust me, I know. I had three big brothers and they ALL complained about taking their girlfriends to the mall.

"Why, of course I'm sure. There's a shopping center a couple of blocks away."

-(TIME LAPSE)-

"So, which one do you want to go in," he asks me. And my mouth sort of hangs open. This mall is ridiculously huge! I'm feeling a little overwhelmed.

"Um, is there a second-hand store or something else that's reasonably priced?" My saucer-sized eyes scan the shop windows, and all of the clothes on display look really expensive. And I feel an ache in the pit of my wallet.

"Not exactly."

"Of course not," I huff. "Alright, maybe we can try to look through that one?" Then I point to a shop that doesn't have so many frilly things in the display.

We walk in and I make my way straight to the back of the store. "Georgie," Shigure calls after me. I stop and turn towards him. "Where are you going?"

"The clearance racks are always in the back of the store." I thought that this was common knowledge until I saw the look on his face. "I'm cheap, okay? I like my clothes warm, and I like them on sale." He stifles a chuckle and I roll my eyes in response. I turn my attention back to the rack.

There are a couple of button-up shirts and a few tees. There are some thermals folded up next to all the pants. I take a couple of each and a couple of pullovers from the next rack over. Everything costs less than the equivalent of five American dollars, so I know that I can afford it. I won't lie, the pile is mostly full of grey and muted tones. But that's okay. I don't really like to wear bright, flashy clothes. I honestly wanna upchuck at the sight of sequence and anything bedazzled. So I'm pretty pleased with my stack.

I head towards the cash register and Shigure pops out from a random rack with his hands behind his back. "Um, Shigure?"

"What would you think about wearing something like this?" He has a goofy grin on his face and he holds a puffy piece of fabric out to me.

"What is it? a circus tent?"

"It's a dress, you silly girl," He says with a little too much glee. Is it just me, or has his personality changed since we left the police station? He was totally serious this morning, professional even. But now he's kind of a girl crazy creeper. This is why he wanted to go to the store with me, he just wants to check out the girls that are my age!

"I realize that it's a dress, but it's a little showy for my taste." The skirt of it is poofy and dripping in lace,it's a spaghetti strap with a plunging neck-line, AND IT'S PINK FOR CHRIST'S SAKE! I can't wear this!

"It's important for a young lady your age to actually dress like a young lady. So I think that you should try on the dress." He's trying to be persuasive, but I'm not falling for that crap.

"Haha, nice try!" I laugh a little too loudly. "I'll tell you what. I'll wear a dress if something really important comes up. But until something really important comes up, I'm sticking to jeans and sneakers, Bub."

"Georgie, you're no fun," he pouts.

"It's almost winter, and I wouldn't have anywhere to wear it," I argue.

"What if a nice boy wants to take you to a movie or dinner," he retorts. I can't stop a horrible snort and the uncontrollable laughter that follows. "It could happen!"

"On that extremely off chance that someone asks me out on a date, I'll come back and get a skirt or something AFTER I get my paycheck. Let's just focus on getting the necessities today, okay?"

-(TIME LAPSE)-

After the girl at the register rings me up, we leave and head towards a shoe shop. It takes me exactly two minutes to find a decent pair of black combat boots that'll keep the water out of my socks. Besides shampoo and some other basic toiletries, I only have one other thing to get.

As we're walking, I yank Shigure's sleeve and he looks down at me. "What's the matter?"

"You should go home without me. I promise to meet you there in two hours, but you really need to head out." I get all fidgety and avoid eye contact.

"Georgie, tell me what's wrong." He says with concern. He really doesn't have to worry. This isn't a big deal. I just need to do it on my own.

"I just need to do something." I can feel the heat rising to my cheeks.

"Georgie, you're scaring me," he says. "You need to tell me what's wrong right now."

"It's not a big deal. Just trust me." I chew my bottom lip (the side of it that isn't scraped up).

"No, I'm not going to 'just trust you'. It's my responsibility to make sure that you won't get in trouble or hurt again-"

"I'm not going to do anything that reckless. There's just something that I have to do on my own and it's really important."

He clamps onto my wrist and looks down on me with a hard expression. "You're going to tell me what's going on right now, or else I'll sling you over my shoulder and drag you back to the house!"

"I have to buy underwear, okay?!" My face feels like it lit up like a stop light, and his mouth kind of hangs open. It takes a second for him to strike the proper reaction, and his face turns beet red too.

"Oh," is his response. "I see."

"Yeah," my voice cracks. "When the police said Jin destroyed all of my stuff, they meant ALL of my stuff."

"I understand, but I can't just leave you here. I'll go to the food court while you buy... what you need. Just meet me there when you finish," He says, rubbing the back of his neck.

"Will do." I look at my shoes and he gives me an awkward thumbs up before he practically sprints in the other direction.

-(TIME LAPSE)-

Figuring out sizes was a little confusing, but I think I got what I needed. After paying, I leave the store and look around. I just can't find the stupid food court!

I guess that I have to do the girl thing and ask for directions. I stop a group of guys in front of a cell phone vendor and try not to choke on my words. "Uh hi," I awkwardly wave at them. They look at me with sour expressions, but I ignore them. "So uh, can you guys tell me where the food court is. I'm a little lost." They continue to give me the 'are you seriously talking to us right now?' face.

Then one guy's expression changes completely. He has chestnut hair and dark eyes that light up a little when he recognizes me. "Oh wait, you're the new girl!"

"Come again?"

"You just transferred to Kaibarra High. We're in class 1A too," he gestures to the other three boys. "God Sanchez, what happened to you?"

"Oh," I say touching my fat lip. "I was walking home from the grocery store in that blizzard and I couldn't see very well. So I sort of wound up falling in a ditch and I messed up my hand pretty bad...and my face...and like two different ribs. But the doctor did a good job patching me up, so I feel okay." I don't like lying, but everything is too complicated. So I'll tell part of the truth and improvise.

"Damn," he almost shouts. "How are you up and moving around already?"

"I got some crazy powerful pain meds," I shrug. "So, the food court?"

"Oh yeah," he snaps back to reality. "I can show you where to go." He waves off his friends and we walk away from the vendor. As we're trying to find the food court, he's friendly and tries to make some small talk. "So what brings you to the mall today?" He smiles nicely with pretty, pearly whites.

"I lost some stuff in the move and I finally got the chance to do some shopping," I lie.

"That's unfortunate," he frowns. "You didn't lose anything important, did you?"

"Not really, just some clothes. So I think that I got what I needed." I hold up the bags so he can see, and I try to smile like he did.

"Good," he smiles back.

"So," I say looking down at my shoes.

"So," his voice fades.

"Is there breakfast at the food court right now? I'm starving," I say exaggeratedly.

"There's a really good crepe vendor around the corner," he chuckles.

"Wow, I've never had crepes before," I smile. "Is it that cart?" I point to the booth with a man and a big, smooth stove. He nods yes and we walk towards the guy. There is a list of flavors painted nicely on the front of the cart, and this guy doesn't waste any time.

"Two please," he says holding up two fingers. "Banana for me and whatever the lady wants on the other one." Then he shoots me a wink.

"Oh uh, strawberry please." Then he pays the cook before I can even reach for my wallet. The vendor man pours the mixture into a big rotating stove. At first, it looks like he's just making some fruity pancakes. But then he pulls out some massive spatulas and folds them all fancy.

After wrapping them all nicely the man says,"Thank you, have a nice day." This guy takes both of the crepes and hands the strawberry one to me.

I kind of smirk and accept the treat before saying," I hope you know that I'm paying you back."

"No need, I really don't mind." He smiles again.

"I can't let you buy me food, we just met. I don't even know your name," I huff. What is it with people lately? First Yuki shows up at school early to give me a tour, Kyo gets me out of the blizzard, Hatori gives me free medical treatment, Shigure volunteers to be my guardian and now this guy is buying me breakfast. It's almost too good to be true.

"Fine, I'm Hajime Ida. You're Georgie Sanchez. And I'm happy to buy you a crepe."

"That's really nice of you, but it wouldn't feel right unless I payed you back," I chuckle nervously. I take a bite out of the pretty pastry and it's so delicious! "Mmm, this is so good!" It's really soft and really crunchy at the same time.

"I'm glad that you like it so much," he laughs. He takes a healthy bite out of his, but he doesn't have the same reaction as me. Don't get me wrong, he's enjoying it. But he's just not as enthused, probably because he's had crepes before.

I reach into my coat so I can pay him back, but he stops me. "Alright Sanchez, I'll let you pay me back on one condition."

"What kind of condition," I say before taking another bite.

"You have to give me your phone number," he says cooly.

"Deal," I say taking about three hundred yen out of my pocket.

"And." He says holding up one finger to stop me.

"And?"

"You can't get mad if I don't wait twenty four hours to call and ask you out on a date," he says with a smirk.

"Oh." I feel my eyes pop out of my skull and my cheeks turn a thousand shades of red. "I-"

I see Shigure across the food court and he's waving his hands over his head yelling," Georgie, we're going to miss the train! Hurry up!"

"I really have to go," I say handing him the money. "I'm sorry. I'll see you at school, Ida." And then I rush off to meet Shigure.


	5. Chapter 5

"Wait, a boy asked you out on a date!?" Shigure says with a sagging jaw.

"He didn't necessarily ask me out on a date...per say." I dump a couple of cups into the rice cooker. "He asked for my phone number, so he could ask me out eventually." He cocks an eyebrow at me, and I shift uncomfortably. I turn on the pressure cooker and when I turn back to Shigure, he's still giving me that 'seriously, are you kidding me?' expression. "Alright. I guess that he DID ask me out. But I've got too much going on right now. The last thing I need to do is add a boy to the equation." Then I waddle to the stove so I can turn over the salmon.

"You aren't the least bit interested in catching a movie with this guy?" He says with big puppy eyes. "He offered to buy you something from the vendor, so he seemed nice enough, didn't he?" Then Yuki walks into the kitchen, and he catches the end of our conversation.

"Who seems nice enough," he says curiously.

"I ran into somebody from school this morning while I was buying some things," I chuckle nervously. "No biggie." He comes around the corner and helps out by setting the table.

"So who did you run into?" He didn't drop this like I hoped he would.

"Uh, Hajime Ida," I say, peeling a potato. "I guess that he's in our class?" There, that's a good enough explanation. Let's just leave it at that!

"And apparently, Mr. Ida is quite the smooth talker," Shigure chimes in. I roll my eyes at him and pretend to be too preoccupied with dinner to carry on with the conversation. "He asked the mysterious and exotic new exchange student to go on a date."

"Can we just drop this," I whine. "And let's just get one thing straight. Mexican doesn't exactly count as exotic. Girls like me come a dime a dozen back home," I say pointing a spatula at my new guardian, quite menacingly if I do say so myself. The both of them give me a dissatisfied look and I groan inwardly. "Yes, he seemed like a nice guy. Yes he was very polite. Yes he asked me to go out at some point. And yes, I left before I could give him an answer. But that doesn't make me a bad person, right Yuki?"

"Of course not," he says in a soothing voice. "After everything that happened last night, I wouldn't blame you for not wanting to date. It might make things even more complicated."

"Thank you. Finally! SOMEONE understands where I'm coming from," I say while gesturing at the one and only voice of reason. "And besides, I don't need a guy in my life. I've got the three of you," I smile.

An almost inhuman "AWWW" comes out of Shigure. "Oh dear, who knew we'd get such a sweet peony to refresh the air in such a stale, stale house." He gets a goofy look on his face and he prepares himself for another strange comment.

Yuki is stirring a pot of soup for me, so I lean over and whisper. "Does he always monologue like that?"

"Unfortunately, yes. He's a novelist, so he's full of a large array of unnecessary proverbs," He groans.

"Well, I'll tell you one thing, I am NOT a freaking peony," I chuckle.

"Well then, Georgie," Shigure teases. "If you aren't a peony, then what are you?"

I pause for a moment. "I've never really thought too hard about something like that. But I'm pretty sure that I wouldn't describe myself as something showy like a flower," I smile modestly at my bare feet. "And don't get me wrong, most people in general should be described as something wonderful like a flower. But me, I think I'm more like...a cottonwood seed."

"Cottonwood seeds," the young man chuckles. "Off all things, why would you pick that?" He crinkles his eyebrows trying to understand my reasoning.

"Well, back home there are these huge Cottonwood trees. And in the spring time they'll drop all of their seeds. And they just drift on the wind for months, it almost looks like snow. Sometimes it feels like they'll never stop floating around, or they'll never actually hit the ground. But sometimes a seed does land in a nice place to fall, and it can burrow itself into the ground where the roots can take hold. Once the roots grow, these amazing trees sprout up and stay in the same place for what seems like forever. Right now, I'm still drifting. But maybe someday I'll find a place where my roots can take hold and I'll never have to leave again." I look up from the salmon fillets I was cooking. And both of these guys are staring at me. "What, is it really that bizarre? You guys are looking at me like I just grew another head."

"So you don't feel like your roots can take hold here," a gruff voice says. I turn around and Kyo is glaring at me from the foot of the stairwell. My stomach knots up and I shrink under his stare.

"Kyo, don't take this the wrong way,"I say quietly. "None of you take this the wrong way." I look around the table and try to give them a reassuring little grin. "I'm so grateful to you guys for taking me, I really am. But I've been moved around from too many places too many times. And there's no hard evidence proving that I won't have to leave again," I shiver. "What if something bad happens to you guys? Or what happens when Shigure's certification to be my foster parent expires? And bad things seem to happen just as I start to get attached to people. So I can't make any plans to stay here forever and live happily ever after just yet, you know?" The room turns dead silent. I swear to god that you could hear a pin fall on a cotton ball. I look at their sullen expressions and I know that I shouldn't have said that. All the food is prepped. "Let's just forget about what I said. Dinner's ready, guys."

The entire meal has been painfully awkward. Nobody's attempted to make any conversation. Kyo is glaring around everyone at the table, if that counts.

After about an hour, everybody seems to be done. They all make their little excuses to leave the table, so I'm left alone. "Wow, I really shouldn't have said that," I whisper to myself. I probably made everyone so mad. Ugh, I can't stand this.

As I'm doing the dishes (which is in fact, entirely possible with my burnt hand) this awful feeling of dread is building up inside of me. I don't know what I'm going to say to make this better.

See! This is why I can't wait to turn eighteen. When I can move out and be on my own, I won't be able to freak everyone out like this. Nobody's gonna die on me or leave. I won't be spinning out of control like this.

After finishing, I cut through the living room and shut the big, rice paper door behind me. A cool night breeze hits me in the face. But not even the breezes feel the same here. Colorado is dry and and the altitude is high. But Japan is humid and at sea level. It feels like the goddamn ocean is spraying me in the face every time the wind picks up. And we're not anywhere near the sea!

Everything is so different here, it's almost too much to take in. I sit down and the porch settles underneath my weight with a soft squeak. I heave in deeply and look around. All of the trees are completely bare. There's no pine here, not like back home. "I have to stop comparing this place to Colorado," I groan.

The door slides open behind me and Yuki appears. "Ms. Sanchez, are you alright?"

"I'm okay," I smile halfheartedly. "I'm really sorry about what I said. I didn't mean to make you guys feel uncomfortable." I cup my face in my hands. "I'm completely screwing this up." My voice goes up an octave. It does that whenever I'm panicking.

"No, you're fine," he says comfortingly. He drapes a blanket around my shoulders and sits next to me. "You're handling yourself so well. It's pretty remarkable." He can't really mean that.

"I feel like I got hit by a bus," I cough. "And I'm making it worse by being disrespectful and morbid."

"You haven't been disrespectful." He looks at me with a slightly confused expression. "What made you think that?"

"I basically said that I refused to call your house my home because I'm afraid that I'm going to get the boot," I groan.

"Why do you think we're going to kick you out of the house? We really aren't that terrible." His tone hasn't changed. How is it possible for someone to sound so calm and level-headed all the time? It must be exhausting.

"I'm not afraid of being kicked out, because I can tell that you guys are very nice," I reassure him. "But it feels like something really bad happens whenever I let people get too close. Nothing has happened to Mel and the boys, thank god. But in the past eleven years, I've lost both of my parents, my paternal grandparents and now Aunt Matty."

"Miss Sanchez, we are going to be fine. Nothing bad will happen," he says soothingly."And we're practically indestructible with the curse."

" I know that I shouldn't worry about this kind of stuff. But I still do," I cough. "The idea of getting attached to a family that I can't really have...it scares me." I wrap the blanket around me tight, but I still can't shake this awful shiver.

"Miss Sanchez." I blink at him and he looks at me really hard. "I know that we aren't your biological family, but we want you to feel at home here. I really hope that you'll become comfortable, so you can get back to being yourself."

"Yeah, me too," I say quietly. I rest my head on his shoulder and sigh. Ignoring the way he tenses up, I finish my thought," I just need time to feel normal again. And I'll get to that point sooner than you think, I promise. I've been told that I bounce back pretty fast."

"Trust me, you're probably the most normal person in this house,"he sighs.

"I don't know Yuki," my voice teases slightly. "Aside from the whole curse thing, you guys seem pretty normal to me." He stays silent, not knowing how to react. "And I'm not saying that because I'm defective or whatever. Even if you guys did transform when I hugged you, I don't think I'd view you any differently."

"How do you view us, then?" I remove my head from his shoulder and look him in the eye, so he knows I'm being sincere.

"You guys seem like generally good people with very...vibrant personalities. But I kind of get the feeling that you and Kyo clash a bit, Mr. Rat." He looks astonished and I giggle.

"How did you know," he says with wide eyes.

"I just pick up on certain things," I shrug. "There's kind of this tension that builds up whenever you two are in the same room. And it feels like Kyo might instigate an argument, but you'd make him go nuts and drive him into a mental corner. Sort of like when a cat chases a mouse. And I know you guys are being sort of decent to each other for my sake, but I get the feeling that you probably fight a lot."

"How did you gather that?" He looks creeped out by my freaky sixth sense, but also intrigued.

"Mel has twins, and they were always at each other's throats. They're always competing to see who has the better grades, who is better at sports, who has the prettier girlfriend. But most of the time, they would get so angry with each other they'd wind up getting into fights in the living room. I won't even mention how many vases I've glued back together and holes that I've patched in the drapes just to keep them from getting in really serious trouble." I swing my legs over the edge of the porch and let the autumn breeze lick my feet. "But there were still times when they got along, even if it was only for a few minutes."

"Alright, so you aren't psychic," he says relieved.

"You don't strike me as the type to believe in psychics," I say with inquisitive eyebrows.

"We turn into animals upon human embrace. So I think that anything is possible at this point," he chuckles lightly.

"Touché." I laugh a little and let the wind lick my face. He gazes at me for a second without saying anything. Almost immediately, I crumble and assume that something is wrong. "I know. I must look lovely right now," I say sarcastically. "It's a wonder that I got a date with this fat lip and black eye." I chuckle awkwardly, but He almost looks sad. I hope I didn't say something that made him uncomfortable. "Yuki, what's wrong?"

"Is it hard?"

"Huh?"

"Is it hard for you to act like everything is okay, even when you're so broken?" My eyes widen and my breath catches in my throat. He obviously notices and tries to take back what he said. "I'm sorry, Miss Sanchez. It isn't appropriate of me to ask a question like that."

"No, it's okay," I say softly. "It's a valid question. Um, being okay with this whole situation is tough, I won't lie. But it gets easier each time I make the transition. I'm a little more numb to it this go go-around, I think. And believe me, I know how sociopathic this sounds. But I've seen five people die in the past eleven years, and all of them were the only family I had left. None of them were around long enough for me to build a solid relationship with, but I still payed them the proper respects and mourned for all of them. But I think I've gotten to the point of crying myself dry and just being plain old sick of mourning."

"You aren't sad about this?" He looks confused at my explanation.

"You're kidding me, right," I scoff. "Of course I'm sad, and angry, and confused, and everything in between. But I'm not the only person that ever felt like the world was coming down around their ears. Even you have your problems, don't you?"

"I suppose so-"

"Yuki, it's a yes or no question." I cock an eyebrow at him and he looks flustered.

"Yes, I have my issues too."

"And as far as I've seen, you don't like let people know either."

"But your situation is entirely different."

"If Whatever you've gone through has left mental scars, then we're not so different. And you don't have to tell me everything right now. But if you ever need somebody to talk to, you know where I'll be."

"You're pretty remarkable, Miss Sanchez. You just don't seem to know it yet." He smiles softly and I feel my face redden.

"What makes you say that?" I say shakily.

"You're so much more concerned about taking care of us right now than you are about taking care of yourself. I think it's pretty amazing that somebody could be so selfless."

"Speaking of taking care of myself, I should probably go take a shower." Now that I think about it, I haven't showered since the day before yesterday. Grody!

"Oh, of course," he says suddenly remembering that I've been running around all day. "The bathroom upstairs is the first door on the left. I think that there are some extra towels in the linen closet. And there's another toothbrush in the top drawer underneath the sink." He's so helpful. Good on him. "And come to think of it, there's also a room set up for you. It's the second door on the right. All of your things should be up there."

"Thanks...for everything." I get up and leave and his gaze follows me out the door.

-Stitch's note-

Sorry that this chapter is so short, but I thought you guys needed to see that Georgie is honestly hurting and scared. I also wanted her to have a sweet moment with Yuki, like she did in the last chapter with Shigure. I promise that she and Kyo will have an entertaining encounter in next week's installment, so stay tuned. And I also want to send a shoutout to my followers! The four of you have amazing taste :P


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